MNI BRIEF: Fed's Powell- Rise In Yields 'Clearly A Tightening'

The Federal Reserve is keeping a close eye on the spike in long-term bond yields that has "clearly" tightened financial conditions and "at the margin it could" reduce the need for the Fed to tighten further, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday.

"It's clearly a tightening in financial conditions. We need to be watching this," Powell said during a Q&A at the Economic Club of New York. (See MNI INTERVIEW: Fed Shifting To High For Long Message-English) The rise in yields has been driven by a number of factors ranging from higher term premia, expectations of higher borrowing costs over the longer run and the Fed's shrinkage of its balance sheet, Powell said.